The Juniper Tree

The Juniper Tree with illustrations by Hermann Vogel

First things first - this fairy tale is known under two titles: Juniper Tree and Almond Tree. Both sorts of trees share the same characteristics - their fruit contains potential poison which can cause death. Death is one of the main themes in this story.

Now let's look at it through dark and ominous illustrations of one of the most horrifying fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers.

The story starts with a wealthy woman wishing for a kid. She gets a baby boy but dies. She asks her husband to bury her bones under the juniper (almond) tree and he fulfills her last wish.

After some time, he remarries. He gets another child with her. This time it's a girl. Her name is Marlene. She and her older brother are good friends but the new wife, the boy's stepmother hates him. She knows he will one day inherit everything and her daughter will get nothing. So she abuses him at every single moment.

One day he tries to get an apple out of the chest with a very heavy lid and she uses the opportunity to slam the cover and decapitate him. Then she carries his body to the bench, puts his head on his neck, and wraps a handkerchief around, so the wound is covered.

When Marlene sees her stepbrother, she asks him for an apple. He says nothing and her stepmother advises her to hit him. Marlene hits her brother and his head falls off. Her mother tells her she will cover her crime by cooking the remains of her stepbrother.

She does that and serves the stew to her husband, the dead boy's father. Marlene buries his bones under the juniper tree. Smoke rises out of his grave and a bird forms out of it. This bird starts flying around telling the sad story about being killed, being eaten, and being buried.

His song gets him three gifts.

The illustrator used the opportunity to use his surname (vogel means bird in the German language) in the picture with a curious audience.

Here is more about the illustrator:
https://just4fairytales.blogspot.com/2013/04/hermann-vogel.html

The bird gets a golden necklace, a pair of shoes, and a millstone.

He takes all his gifts and returns to the house where the juniper tree stands. There he sings again.

While he sings he drops his gifts. The necklace is for the father.

The shoes are for the stepsister.

And the millstone is for the stepmother.

When she dies of decapitation, the bird transforms into a boy who can now live with his father and stepsister.

A spooky fairy tale with a happy ending!